Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Examples of such multiple-access networks include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.
A wireless communication network may include a number of base stations (BSs) that can support communication for a number of user equipments (UEs). A UE may communicate with a base station (BS) via the downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the BS to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the BS. A BS may transmit data and control information on the downlink to a UE and/or may receive data and control information on the uplink from the UE.
Currently, a UE transmits uplink data after receiving a grant from a BS for uplink transmissions. Unnecessary delays in transmission of uplink data may occur during low uplink traffic scenarios, as the UE waits for the uplink grant. It is desirable to reduce delays for uplink transmissions.